


Consequence

by Cake and Pi (Tarrin)



Series: Aftermath [3]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-13
Updated: 2016-03-13
Packaged: 2018-05-26 09:58:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6234187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarrin/pseuds/Cake%20and%20Pi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world is safe, and all he had to do was pretend to betray everything and everyone he loves.</p><p>Follow-up to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5356427">Untangle</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Consequence

**Author's Note:**

> Read [Untangle](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5356427) first, otherwise you're spoiling the ending!

The world is safe, and all he had to do was pretend to betray everything and everyone he loves, plan and execute the fake death - the fake _murder_ \- of one friend, and survive the actual death of another.

Nightwing asks him to resume leadership of the team almost immediately after. He has the temerity to cite Wally’s death (Wally’s ceasing as the team’s calling it, as if using a different word makes it untrue) as the reason Nightwing can’t continue leading. Part of him wants to throw back that Wally was his friend too, that Nightwing hadn’t just gotten back from a months-long undercover mission. But Kaldur can see the stress on Nightwing’s face, and Kaldur can’t help but think of how much he’d have wanted someone to step in for himself, if he’d been in Nightwing’s shoes. So he accepts.

It gives him something to do, at least; something to keep his mind off of worrying when Atlantis would send for him. Of wondering who they’d send to collect him. Not that it keeps him from worrying, just lets him worry about something else for a change. Black Canary tries to talk with him a few times, but Kaldur pleads a heavy workload (true) and too little time (untrue, if he’d simply delegate; true, because even if he’s ignoring it for now that won’t make Atlantis never send for him) and slips out of answering leading questions he doesn’t want to answer.

He’s tired but he can’t sleep, hungry but even his favorite foods taste bland. Roy - _his_ Roy, the one he knew growing up, not the Roy also known as Arsenal - visits the Watchtower and from the way the redhead’s eyebrows shoot up when their eyes meet, Kaldur knows he’s in for an earful. But a city under siege by villains takes precedence over the personal, and between the confusion of battle and Roy taking off to chase down one of the escaping villains, that earful is never delivered.

He never thought that missing a chance to count the number of expletives Roy could fit into a sentence would hurt.

He’s trying to center himself, trying to draw in the cold stillness of space to calm his racing, circling thoughts. It isn’t working, despite the measured breaths he’s forcing himself to take, and only when he sees Garth’s reflection in the viewing pane does a calmness overtake him. His wait is over, he can feel it, and it’s a blessing to not have to wonder if it’d be _now, now, now?_ anymore.

A full month of waiting and keeping busy and trying not to think about when he’d be called back to Atlantis to stand trial. Of trying to prepare the team for his eventual absence, of not telling them why he was pushing them so hard because they’d try to argue in his defense. And Kaldur doesn’t want to be defended, not when he knows exactly how many of Atlantis’ laws he’s broken. Not when the only thing that might make his nightmares stop is to face justice, to take responsibility for his actions. He can’t bring himself to return to Atlantis on his own, but he can’t - he won’t - run either. In some way, as long as he was at the Watchtower, as long as nothing was said of Atlantis, it was as if time had stalled.

Now time was back with a vengeance, and Garth’s here. Garth’s here and that hurts more than Kaldur had expected; what if Garth’s here because he hates Kaldur now? But he doesn’t want anyone else to have come for him; with Garth he doesn’t need to wear any mask. Garth holds out his hand, an offering, and it’s too much for Kaldur. He takes it and all but drags Garth into his arms. It has been far too long since he’s held Garth like this, since Kaldur’s been held like this, and for the first time Kaldur hopes he’ll be allowed visitors while in jail. He knows he’s wounded Garth, and it’d be nice to have the chance to begin fixing that.

He returns to Atlantis, and his heart thuds heavily every day while the trial goes on, while his fate is decided.

He’s sure he hears it wrong, when the verdict comes out.

He hadn’t expected this, hadn’t thought it possible, and it’s a stupid, _stupid_ mistake because it had never been taken off the books, just fallen into disuse and forgotten and how had he overlooked that?

He can’t stop reeling from it, and the cruelest part, he thinks, is the time he’s given after the verdict. That, with the decision made, he has to wait. That he has time to think, time to worry, time to _fear_ , and he half-wonders if that’s why he has time: so he can break. But he’s been broken before, thoroughly and completely. This is terrifying but it’s nothing like what M’gann did to him. He draws from that, not just strength but also steadiness, so that when the time finally comes, he’s retreated into an almost calm meditation.

He only tenses a little at the prick of the needle.


End file.
